Azernews.Az

Kazakhstan is more interested in transporting oil and gas through Azerbaijan, its foreign minister, Marat Tazhin, has said.
Tazhin commented, during a meeting with visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in the Kazakh capital Astana on Sunday, that the ongoing developments in the Caucasus region are not causing any problems for the Central Asian state`s priorities. "As for Russia, this country is our strategically important ally."
Rice stressed the strategic importance of U.S. relations with Kazakhstan, saying the U.S. is not trying to win over Kazakhstan and undermine Russian relationships in Central Asia after a five-day war sparked by Russia`s incursion in Georgia.
"This is not some kind of contest for the affections of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan has excellent relations with all its neighbors and that`s the way it should be," Rice told reporters.
One of Russia`s closest allies, Kazakhstan has not recognized Georgia`s rebel regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, whose independence Russia endorsed after its war with the South Caucasus republic in August. Moscow`s move was widely condemned by the West.
The U.S. denounced Russia`s incursion into Georgia and the decision to recognize the breakaway regions.
Georgia, a Western-leaning former Soviet republic, is seeking admission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an initiative supported by the U.S.
Rice`s trip to Astana is one of few high-level U.S. visits to Kazakhstan. Trade, economics and energy were among issues discussed with Kazakh leaders.
Kazakhstan is important to the U.S. since it possesses 3.2 percent of the world`s oil reserves and is the region`s largest oil exporter, after Russia. The country also ships energy via pipelines through Azerbaijan to Georgia and Turkey, thus, bypassing Russia.